unless congress acts new regulations will make it more expensive for farmers, manufacturers, energy producers, and many small business owners across the country to manage their unique business risks associated with their day-to-day operations. an end user fix is just one example of the kind of bipartisan actions that we can take to improve the safety and soundness of our financial system without unnecessarily inhibiting economic growth. it's my hope that today's hearing is going to provide us a starting point to address these critical issues and identify the needed reforms that we must undertake. thank you, mr. chairman, again, for holding this hearing. >> thank you. this morning opening statements will be limited to the chairman and ranking member to allow more time for questions from the committee members. i want to remind my colleagues that the record will be open for the next seven days for opening statements and any other materials you'd like to submit. now i would like to introduce our witnesses. the undersecretary for domestic finance of the u.s. depth of the treasury is with us. we al